title: White slavery, whorehouse riots, venereal disease, and saving women: historical context of prostitution interventions and harm reduction in New York City during the Progressive Era.
abstract: Harm reduction and structural approaches to reduce HIV risk among sex workers face several barriers. One such barrier is based on moral arguments, and it has a rich historical context. This article examines the historical context of interventions with sex workers in New York City during the Progressive Era (1890-1920). Present at the time, though under a different name, the harm reduction approach was largely dismissed. These same moral underpinnings may be active today in driving interventions and policy toward those that are morally focused and away from those that focus on harm reduction and structural change.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University School of Social Work, New York, NY 10027, USA. as3234@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smolak
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D011477:Sex Work / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012930:Social Dominance / Q000266:history; D012940:Social Problems / Q000266:history; D016387:Women's Health / Q000266:history